Remaindered Read Online Free PDF Page A

remember.”
    â€œThat was when we needed the credit card with Robert’s signature. He found an old receipt book full of Robert’s signatures in the filing cabinet, but that was three days ago. He handed it to me and it’s all I want. His work is done. He has no reason to be lunching with Tanya every day.”
    â€œSilly old fool,” Myrtle said. “He stands no chance with her. Smart clothes can only do so much for a guy. God help him when he takes them off.”
    â€œIs that one of Butch’s sayings?”
    â€œNo. I said it.”
    â€œI’m worried, Myrtle.” George showed the stress he was under by pulling the end of his silver ponytail across his throat. “We don’t want him telling her anything.”
    â€œAbout this?”
    â€œNo—about the heist of the van.”
    â€œShe isn’t interested in that. She has too much on her mind, and soon she’ll have a whole lot more. How’s the project going?”
    â€œMy part is complete,” George said, reaching into his pocket. “It’s over to you now.”
    â€œFine,” Myrtle said. “I’ll plant the little beauty tomorrow lunchtime, while Edward is working his charm on her in Jimmy’s.”
    â€œI was thinking,” Tanya said, at the next lunch date.
    â€œYeah?” Edward had already finished the bottle of Chablis and was on Bourbon. His glazed eyes looked ready for a cataract operation.
    â€œAbout Robert,” she went on, “and how you three linked up with him. Was he ever in New York?”
    â€œSure,” he said, with a flap of the hand, “but way back, when we were all much younger.”
    â€œIn Butch Rafferty’s gang?”
    â€œI wouldn’t say Robert was in the gang,” he said, starting to slur the words, “but we all knew him. He was a bartender then, some place in the Bowery where we used to meet.”
    â€œSomeone you trusted?”
    â€œRight on. Like one of the family.”
    â€œButch’s family?”
    â€œYeah. Butch liked the guy and so did the rest of us. Robert knew how to keep his mouth shut. Jobs were discussed. It didn’t matter.”
    â€œA bartender in New York? That’s a far cry from owning a bookshop.”
    â€œHe had a dream to get out of town and open a bookstore and that’s what he did when he had the money.”
    â€œJust from his work in the bar?” she said, disbelieving.
    â€œButch helped him. Butch was like that. And it wasn’t wasted. Butch knew if he ever needed a bolt-hole he could lay up for a while here in Poketown, Pennsylvania.” He shook his head slowly. “Too bad he was shot before he had the chance.”
    Tanya knew all this, but there was more she didn’t know. “So after Butch was killed, some of you left town and came here?”
    He nodded. “Myrtle’s idea. She knew where Robert had set up shop.”
    â€œWas she an active member of the gang?”
    â€œShe didn’t go on jobs, but she has a good brain and she’s cool. She helped Butch with the planning.” He blinked and looked sober for a second. “You’re not an undercover cop, by any chance?”
    She laughed. “No way. I’m starstruck by how you guys operate.”
    Reassured, he reached for the Bourbon and topped up his glass. “Sexy, huh?”
    â€œIt’s a turn-on. I’ll say that.”
    â€œYou’re a turn-on without saying a word.”
    â€œFlatterer.” She was still on her first glass of wine, picking her questions judiciously. The process required care, even with a half-cut would-be seducer like this one. The query about the undercover cop was a warning. Edward couldn’t have been more wrong, but it would be a mistake to underestimate him. “What is it with the Friends of England? Is that the only way you can meet in private?”
    â€œWe could meet anywhere. It’s a free